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Not really a commuter as I don't these days, so distance not an issue. It would be for riding errands and to the shops. Max distance about 6-7 miles ish.
Wish list:
High sweep/grandad style bars
Some sort of chain guard or trouser protection
Not racy but not a sit up Dutch bike as we have hills, this is Wales
Not writing a ton
Gears - not sure, the idea of belt drive and hub gears appeals but as I said I don't want it too hard work
Bonus:
Built in rack and/or mudguards
No bloody Bromptons
Spot on except it's 70% over budget which I forgot to mention is £4-500...
I'm less in the loop than end of July when I bought my Voodoo Marasa, which I'm happy with for commuting duty with its 3x9 gearing and hydraulic brakes despite its stock weight of ~12.9Kg for the 18" frame, but I was oblivious to https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-urb-8.6-urban-hybrid-bike-2021---s-m-l-frames-423974.html being released since that weighs ~11Kg (which is very similar to the hyb 8.6 iirc).
However, a brief look at hybrids section on Halfords site suggests low stock availability on many models, but I could order a medium green hyb 8.6 https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-hyb-8.6-mens-hybrid-bike-2021---green---s-m-l-frames-366230.html for collection in Hedge End.
Budget, schmudget! 🙂
I'd go for a used flat bar tourer or hybrid at that budget.
The Boardman is beautiful but that one-piece bar and stem isn't ideal cos it's flat, I want high sweep.
Anyway - my wife has OKed the plan! So I could actually get a new bike!
Do I want hub gears? A Nexus, in this case?
For exactly that (errands from 0.5miles - 20+ miles) I use a 1989/90 531st tourer with old-style slightly swept sport-touring bars. This 2020 spring-summer has been a trial-period of sorts. The bike has wafted me everywhere over hill, common, field, track, town and city. Swift, light(ish), balanced, stable when loaded with panniers and/or rackpack. Rides like a dream tbh. No chainguard (but no bother). Only slight shortcomings from the off were the brakes, now have improved them a lot with Kool Stop Eagle Claw blocks (salmon).
Would also like to try some very slightly wider bars and slimmer grips to get it dialled to perfection. It was £80 for bike with guards fitted, and the rackpack /Brooks saddle I already owned. Also have some cavernous Bikehut panniers for bigger shops. I re-fitted some drop bars for touring/keep-fit shenanigans, but tbh I really like the grandad bar options*
Prior to this old tourer I used a modern Dutch bike for the errands. Enjoyed that a lot too, although it was very ‘leisurely’, weighed almost twice this, and was a different beast altogether. I’m liking the hand-built quality of this bike. Arguably far too good for doing the shopping - but I also found that it often inspires the option of taking a long road home/away elsewhere. 9/10 (needs a kick-stand to be a proper town bike). Dynamo hub/lights also planned.
*Just remembered there’s a pair of North Rounder bars hanging up on the wall so shall trim them a tad and try out:
What you want is an alfine on the bike. Disc brakes are a must for an urban bike and hub gears are excellent for an urban bike
You can get your grandad style bars on any mtb style bike - high rise stem and a mary bar or similar
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FBFRPFSS400/frappe-fss-400 gets you belt drive hub gear, maybe grab a pair of hydraulic brakes from the spares box. Few other Frappe models that might suit if you trust PX.
I would say you do want a hub gear but not necessarily a Shimano one. I had a Nexus 8 speed on my commuting/town bike. I converted it to singlespeed a year or two ago because it's so flat here and because I really started to resent the extra effort I had to put in with the Nexus. I recently put a sturmey archer dynamo drum brake front hub (x-fdd) on it. I think it's great.
If I needed lower gearing I'd be more tempted by a SA 3 speed rather than putting the Nexus back on, probably with another drum brake at the rear too. That's mainly because people say they don't feel mushy like the Shimano Nexus/alfine 8 hubs.
The other planned upgrade is a butted frame as the current one is plain gauge and slowly succumbing to heavy rust around the BB and chainstays.
Van moof S2 😉
Disc brakes are a must for an urban bike
I've had a road bike for my town bike since 2001 (mmm, felling old now).
All the accidents I've had have been my fault, expect one and better brakes wouldn't have helped me then.
I have a shopping bike that was my last CTW bike 2010 Giant Seek 0, well I think that's what its called?
I have fitted some bigger rigid panniers since this picture, disk brakes sure help when you have a lot of wine in your panniers 😉
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I'm sure something like this second hand would be well within your budget
Disc brakes are a must for an urban bike
I’ve recently use three different bikes with three different types of brakes (rim, disc and roller) and they all work well if maintained.
Of the three I’d say the roller brakes are the least squealy and lowest maintenance (just a squirt of roller-brake oil once a year).
For simplicity, usability and reliability overall in purely stop/start urban situations I have to hand it to the Dutch bike with 3spd and rollers. If it had been an alloy frame it would probably still be in use today (and not rusting in the shed 😢).
You can get your grandad style bars on any mtb style bike – high rise stem and a mary bar or similar
Yep. I put those North Rounder bars on few MTB conversions. ie
(late 90s 26er MTB, long stem but it did counteract the extreme sweep of the bars. Too much shorter and they would have interfered with my legs)
I built up an old road frame (Peugeot). Full length SKS mudguards, 1x10 gearing, flat bars and 28mm tyres. I used it to commute 13 miles a day on mainly canals. Before then I was riding 23 miles a day on the road with the same frame although it was 2x8 with downtube shifters and drop bars.
Would probably go for wider tyres if I did it again.